Are there down sides to low action...?

[SGD Lutherie]

Thanks, that's what it's all about - whatever works for each individual.

Stanley Clarke sets his action really high on basses he slaps on. He said when he recorded Silly Putty it was so high he flubbed a note at the beginning. He was saying to himself he might have over done it.

 

[FletcherML]

You sure it isn't his intonation?

yeah, I set his ontonation for him. But then again his action is ridiculously high. Oh well, not my bass not my problem hahaha

 

[Billy K]

I find I need a bit higher action my style is a bit aggressive at this time and the fret buzz was bothering me. I think low action is great for guitar players but bass it seems is not played with that kind of finese.I hope I put that right(finese).but our strings are fatter and take way more power in the fingers to move them so it's not a light touch.We be rough boys.Is that what the Who was singing about?Bass players?I just got off subject sorry

 

[Brad Johnson]

I find I need a bit higher action my style is a bit aggressive at this time and the fret buzz was bothering me. I think low action is great for guitar players but bass it seems is not played with that kind of finese.I hope I put that right(finese).but our strings are fatter and take way more power in the fingers to move them so it's not a light touch.We be rough boys.Is that what the Who was singing about?Bass players?I just got off subject sorry

Low action is also great for bassists who can play with lower action. It's quite possible to play with finesse and power with lower action but clearly it's not someone everyone can or wants to do. IOW it can be more difficult to do.


As far as how much power it takes to move the strings, sure... if you have higher action you'll likely need to expend more energy. Low action not so much... it's really about controlling the string in smaller increments.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

As far as how much power it takes to move the strings, sure... if you have higher action you'll likely need to expend more energy. Low action not so much... it's really about controlling the string in smaller increments.

This is true, and also it's how you strike the string. I pluck the strings pretty hard, but you can't tell from watching my right hand. Unless I want a clanky tone I stay very perpendicular to the string plane, and don't frail around much with my right hand.

I was in a recording studio recently, and the owner/engineer is a bassist. He was trying my bass out and noted that when he played it, it didn't sound the same as when I played it. I showed him how we pluck the strings very differently.

So while I'm plucking hard, it's a small movement.

 

[OPBASSMAN1994]

The only downside that I can find is that you have to sometimes re-intonate the bass after lowering the action, and you can't play super smooth sounding stuff quite as well unless you pluck really lightly toward the bridge. Thus, I've had to be really careful not to punch the crap out of the congregation at church. Youth band is fine with the punch though.

 

[Brad Johnson]

The only downside that I can find is that you have to sometimes re-intonate the bass after lowering the action, and you can't play super smooth sounding stuff quite as well unless you pluck really lightly toward the bridge. Thus, I've had to be really careful not to punch the crap out of the congregation at church. Youth band is fine with the punch though.

Actually you can... it just takes practice.

 

[Brad Johnson]

This is true, and also it's how you strike the string. I pluck the strings pretty hard, but you can't tell from watching my right hand. Unless I want a clanky tone I stay very perpendicular to the string plane, and don't frail around much with my right hand.

I was in a recording studio recently, and the owner/engineer is a bassist. He was trying my bass out and noted that when he played it, it didn't sound the same as when I played it. I showed him how we pluck the strings very differently.

So while I'm plucking hard, it's a small movement.

Absolutely. When I tell people I play with a light touch, they usually assume that it'll sound wimpy. I guess I could say a more controlled than most touch but then that would be seen as arrogant.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

The only downside that I can find is that you have to sometimes re-intonate the bass after lowering the action, and you can't play super smooth sounding stuff quite as well unless you pluck really lightly toward the bridge. Thus, I've had to be really careful not to punch the crap out of the congregation at church. Youth band is fine with the punch though.

I think low action and super smooth go hand-in-hand. You can pluck lighter by the neck and get a real nice legato thing going.

The main thing is to not bang the string down towards the fingerboard, but pluck it sideways. Or for a nice mellow upright type of thing I like to roll my finger off the strings right over the fingerboard. Works especially good on my fretless. Fretless is real sensitive to action. The lower the action, the more "mwah" you get.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

Absolutely. When I tell people I play with a light touch, they usually assume that it'll sound wimpy. I guess I could say a more controlled than most touch but then that would be seen as arrogant.

Well it's all about technique. I spent a lot of time playing both bass and guitar unplugged. These were the usual things of watching TV and playing, etc. But I became aware of trying to get a full and punchy tone from the acoustic tone of the solid body, so I would change where and how I plucked the string. On guitar I was trying to get a very smooth tone, and not that thin "plunky" tone you can get with light strings and a pick! I was also playing bass with a pick a lot more at the time.

I found it all translates to the amplified tone. But listening to the naked tone of the bass helped me develop that.

It's also fun to figure out how all these different players approach the strings. You can get a whole lot of different tones just by plucking the strings in a different way, and even from left hand technique. When I play in cover bands I enjoy trying to get the exact same tone from the bass as the player on the song.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well it's all about technique. I spent a lot of time playing both bass and guitar unplugged. These were the usual things of watching TV and playing, etc. But I became aware of trying to get a full and punchy tone from the acoustic tone of the solid body, so I would change where and how I plucked the string. On guitar I was trying to get a very smooth tone, and not that thin "plunky" tone you can get with light strings and a pick! I was also playing bass with a pick a lot more at the time.

I found it all translates to the amplified tone. But listening to the naked tone of the bass helped me develop that.

I've done the same thing for years. It's funny, I have a friend who's adamant about the fact that people don't do this.

It's also fun to figure out how all these different players approach the strings. You can get a whole lot of different tones just by plucking the strings in a different way, and even from left hand technique. When I play in cover bands I enjoy trying to get the exact same tone from the bass as the player on the song.

Me too.